Take a look at this!! I have been trying to figure out what to do about this, Fagan's collar melted to his fur!:eek: He kicked his collar off last month and I noticed when I picked it up that there was some fur on the clasp, at first I figured it had gotten caught in the clasp, but upon further inspection it was indeed melted. These are the Safe Cat Breakaway Safety collars that I got at Petsmart. Thinking that was weird I investigated possible causes, and checked all the other collars, and sure enough Palomine's was also melted, luckily not to him, just itself and therefor unadjustable now. It hasn't happened with any others and they all wear them, all the time.
I talked to the vet and she said that the flea meds couldn't have done it and that the cats couldn't have gotten hot enough to melt plastic.
I have since tried to contact Coastal Pets, but got no response and am still not sure they are the company that makes them. I am wondering do you think I should try taking them back to PetSmart and see if they can do anything? This is just so odd, and I bought the collars over a year ago. I definitely don't have receipts or anything.

Anyhow here is what I'm talking about.

angeldogs

June 19th, 2007, 05:26 AM

I find that to be a little strange that collars would melt.could it be from sitting in the sun.i would go back to petsmart.they may have a contact# that you could call.good luck.i hope you get a response from coastal pets.

hazelrunpack

June 19th, 2007, 08:55 AM

:eek: Oh, that is weird!

I've never seen that before. But I did notice on the tick meds we use that they've added a caution that it shouldn't be applied near a nylon collar because it will wick into it and lessen its effectiveness... :shrug: They didn't say anything about melting, though.

Dogastrophe

June 19th, 2007, 12:28 PM

I'm just throwing out an idea here: Is it possible that you had some bug spray or a household cleaner on your hands at one point and adjusted the collar?

I melted part of a shirt button after applying bug spray to my arms and hands, rubbing it in with my fingers, and then fiddling with the button. It turned the top surface a bit gummy.

Is it just the bottom side (fur side) that melted or is it on the top as well? (can't really tell from the picture of the top)

krdahmer

June 19th, 2007, 01:52 PM

No it was just the fur side. I definitely don't use bug sprays or cleaners without washing my hands, so that is unlikely, but I know what you mean... I used Deep Woods Off once and it disolved my nail polish:eek: ... and that was the last time I used that stuff! It was clear also that it stuck directly to his fur because he had a bald spot on his neck the size of the clasp. It has since grown back. Good ideas...but :shrug:

ancientgirl

June 19th, 2007, 03:54 PM

I use the same ones on my kittens. I'm going to keep a close watch on them though.

krdahmer

June 20th, 2007, 12:17 AM

ancientgirl, I use them all the time, the other four wearing them are fine... I think it must just be a fluke or something... gonna check it out at PetSmart though. Maybe tomorrow.

OntarioGreys

June 20th, 2007, 01:46 AM

I just check online and Safe Cat collars are one of Coastal Pets products, but they recently changed the design of the collar clasp
http://www.aah-pets.com/safecat.html

not sure if this is how you attempted to contact them
http://www.coastalpet.com/contact/index.php

krdahmer

June 20th, 2007, 05:43 PM

Ya that was over a month and a half ago, and no response. Yet. I may try it again as well as taking the collar in, maybe PetSmart will have better luck finding out what happened.:shrug:

krdahmer

June 30th, 2007, 11:53 PM

Went to Petsmart today after still receiving nothing from the company. The manager replaced the collars with no hassle and got me a number to call. (I hadn't kept the packaging so was unaware that they had an unconditional guarantee.)

I used the two new collars to replace Smoke and Windy's (they were the same kind as the melty ones from Palomine and Fagan) and they too were starting to melt at the adjusters (not to their fur yet thank goodness- they are my long hairs and that would have been a mess no doubt!)!!! I'm gonna take them back my next trip to Petsmart too. I am still flabbergasted as to what could be causing this.

I'm calling the company Monday and I'll let ya know what they have to say.

ancientgirl

July 1st, 2007, 08:17 AM

Please keep us posted. I use the same collars, and I just bought them two new ones this week. I haven't had a problem as of yet, but I'm going to keep an eye on them. Maybe they are using different material that isn't as good as in the past.

krdahmer

July 1st, 2007, 11:18 AM

Thats what I'm thinking... and it doesn't seem to happen right away either, they all wore these collars for almost a year with no problems. The only one that happened at the clasp like that was Fagans, the rest seem to be just melding with the material at the adjustable part so that it's no longer adjustable, almost like it was treated with something that is reacting with the plastic. I can't wait to call tomorrow to see if they have had any similar complaints.

ancientgirl

July 1st, 2007, 12:14 PM

I certainly hope it's not been treated with anything harmful. I mean if the collar or plastic is reacting to their fur or skin, whatever they are using doesn't seem to be good for them.

List

July 1st, 2007, 12:44 PM

I really don't think its the collar.

I have the same brand of collar. And the same thing happened when I used flea meds (revolution or advatix multi, can't remeber) on my cats. They literally look exactly the same.

Even though your vet said it couldn't be the meds, thats were I'm putting my money.

I'll try to get pics. But it only started happening once we used the meds, and my vet agreed that the flea meds reacting with the plastic is the only explanation.

krdahmer

July 2nd, 2007, 06:29 PM

See now thats what I thought, but I've used revolution with the collars on for years before with no problems... although just this year for the first time we used advantage for two months for Fagan's allergy.... so perhaps that is the ticket. (um...says somethin pretty scary about advantage!!!)

I called just now and it was Petsmart, she took my info and someone from corporate headquarters is supposed to call in the next couple of days. Even if they just end up putting a warning on the packaging to take it off when treating for fleas that would be great. Petsmart is really good about it, the collars come with an unconditional guarantee and they did replace them with no hassle.

So maybe we've figured it out!:)

(And here I though Fagan was becoming the Feline Torch! a la Fantastic 4!):laughing:

List

July 2nd, 2007, 06:35 PM

Actually, I'm almost positive it was the advantage multi that I used this time. I've used revolution before without any issues. Weird.
Advantage + collars = melting weirdness.

krdahmer

July 2nd, 2007, 06:39 PM

I wonder if there is a warning on the advantage, I've never looked. I know I was supposed to wash my hands but don't remember anything about it being able to melt plastic!!!:eek: :rolleyes: